Books review in this article:A. L. Caplan and D. Callahan, eds, Ethics in Hard TimesD. Callahan and H. T. Engelhardt, Jr., eds, The Roots of Ethics: Science, religion and valuesA. S. Duncan, G. R. Dunstan and R. B. Welbourn, eds., Dictionary of Medical EthicsC. Webster, ed., Biology, Medicine and Society 1840–1940P. A. Köhler and H. A. Zacher with M. Partington, The Evolution of Social Insurance 1881–1981: Studies of Germany, France, Great Britain, Austria and SwitzerlandA. V. Horvitz, The Social Control of Mental IllnessD. de Catanzaro, Suicide and Self‐Damaging Behavior: A Sociobiological PerspectiveA. Miles, The Mentally Ill in Contemporary SocietyF. R. Fenton, L. Tessier, E. L. Struening, F. A. Smith and C. Benoit, Home and Hospital Psychiatric TreatmentD. Goldberg and P. Huxley, Mental Illness in the Community: the pathway to psychiatric careP. Golding and S. Middleton, Images of Welfare: Press and Public Attitudes to PovertyS. C. Humphreys and H. King, eds, Mortality and Immortality: the anthropology and archaeology of death.C. P. MacCormack, ed., Ethnography of Fertility and Birth.E. Badinter, The Myth of Motherhood: An historical view of the maternal instinctJ. E. Nash and A. Nash, Deafness in SocietyP. Milne, John David: the child that changed their livesB. M. Davies, The Disabled Child and AdultD. H. Phillips, Living with Huntington's Disease: A book for patients and familiesM. Ruse, Is Science Sexist? And other problems in the biomedical sciencesS. Wolf and B, Berle, eds., The Technological Imperative in MedicineR. J. Shephard, The Risks of Passive SmokingJ. G. Cullis, S. Heasell and S. Weller, The Economics of Outpatient Clinic Location: The paediatrics caseA. V. Horvitz, The Social Control of Mental IllnessA. V. Horvitz, The Social Control of Mental IllnessJ. J. Collins, Jr., ed., Drinking and CrimeB. E. Cogswell and M. B. Sussman, eds, Family Medicine: A New Approach to Health CareD. H. Eichorn, J. A. Clausen, N. Haan, M. P. Honzik and P. H. Mussen, eds, Present and Past in Middle LifeD. Coakley, Establishing a Geriatric ServiceD. Coakley, Establishing a Geriatric ServiceD. Coakley, Establishing a Geriatric ServiceP. Thane, The Foundations of the Welfare StateR. G. Burgess ed., Field Research: a Source‐book and field ManualJ.M. Janzen with W. Arkinstall, The Quest for Therapy in Lower ZaireMargaret M. Lock, East Asian Medicine in Urban Japan: Varieties of Medical ExperienceW. R. Cuskey and R. B. Wathey, Female Addition: A Longitudinal study